Mum is still the word around ABC toward reports Katherine Heigl and/or T.R. Knight is bugging out of Grey's Anatomy. However, the network has confirmed a TV Guide report that Nicollette Sheridan will be leaving Desperate Housewives at some time in the near future. Sheridan wasn't one of the original Housewives. Her vampish character, Edie Britt, was added to the series as an irritant to the other ladies of Wisteria Lane. How much, if at all, do you think she will be missed?

Tom Jicha, TV and Radio Writer and Sun Sentinel Columnist, October 3, 2010

What happened to the fellow who played Carlos ( Eva Longoria Parker's husband) on "Desperate Housewives"? There is a new Carlos? We liked the original Carlos. -- C.N., Fort Lauderdale The "new" Carlos is the old Carlos, Ricardo Chavira. I was thrown off myself in the season premiere, as were several other readers. The difference, according to a publicist for the series, is old Carlos shaved off his beard and looks like a new man. The actor on the Geico commercials looks and sounds like "Remington Steele.

The Grammys had a big night despite the no-shows by stars tied up by the justice system and medical procedures. The music industry?s big night averaged approximately 19.7 million viewers, up about 14 percent over last year?s 17.2 million, according to preliminary Nielsen estimates. The ratings were just as impressive in the Madison Avenue cherished 18-49 demo. Any time a show improves double digits year to year, it is a big deal. Not even American Idol has been able to do it. More impressive, The Grammys gave a spanking to Desperate Housewives.

ABC is banking on familiarity breeding ratings in its new fall schedule, which includes six new scripted series and the return of reality show "Secret Millionaire." Among the recognizable faces heading new shows are Michael Imperioli of "The Sopranos," Michael Chiklis of "The Shield," Rob Morrow of "Numb3rs" (no need to wait for CBS's announcements Wednesday) and Joely Richardson of "Nip/Tuck" and Dana Delany, moving on from " Desperate Housewives." As expected, "Fast Forward" is canceled but "V" will return sometime during the season.

The women of Knots Landing love Desperate Housewives as much as the rest of America but they'd like people to remember that they were first. They'll offer a reminder in a reunion special on CBS during the coming season. "I watch that show whenever I can. I think it's brilliantly done," said Michelle Lee, who played Karen in the series that ran 14 seasons and 344 episodes. Donna Mills, who was Abby, is flattered when people tell her Knots Landing was the original Desperate Housewives but she always corrects them with, "Oh, we were better than that."

Q. On the season finale of Desperate Housewives , I was shocked to see Susan coming home to a man other than Mike "five years later." Who was he? Have we seen him in previous episodes? I also was not aware that the show would not be returning. I'm sad to see it go. - A.S., Plantation A. Cheer up. Desperate Housewives is not going anywhere. The cast and creator/executive producer Marc Cherry are signed to contracts through the 2010-2011 season. When it returns in the fall, Desperate Housewives will have moved five years ahead in order to open new plot possibilities.

Desperate Housewives might be around long enough to become Desperate Cougars. ABC has extended the contract of creator/executive producer Marc Cherry by two years, through 2013. This would be enough to take Desperate Housewives, now in its sixth season, through seasons eight and nine. It already has been renewed through 2010-11. However, the contracts of the stars are set only through the seventh season, so there will have to be renegotiations if the soapy drama is to go further. Ironically, these negotiations might not be as tough as could be expected of a series as popular as Desperate Housewives.

Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry confesses to being a huge fan of Lost. He might be taking his admiration too far. Cherry noticed how announcing an end date for Lost reinvigorated the writing on the series this past season, so he used the press tour to announce he is shutting down his own series after three more years, including the upcoming one. The seventh season of Desperate Housewives will be it, he said. He joked that this could all be a ruse to get a big raise for Season 8, but maintained that he is serious.

We knew for a while that this day was coming, but still it feels like there's a sad suddenness to it as we bid farewell to Edie Britt (Nicollette Sheridan), Wisteria Lane's leading man-eater on Desperate Housewives . In tonight's episode, the housewives reminisce about their fallen neighbor who, more often than not, had trouble fitting in. (9 p.m., WPLG-Ch. 10, WPBF-Ch. 25) - Contra Costa Times

The Television Critics Association did something that seemed strange this summer. The writers chose Desperate Housewives their Program of the Year. Nothing odd about that. The campy rookie was last season's buzz show. The ladies of Wisteria Lane turned ABC around and helped bring viewers back from cable to broadcast TV, reversing a seemingly irreversible trend. An apparent contradiction that raised some eyebrows, however, was the TCA opting for Arrested Development as best comedy -- snubbing Desperate Housewives, which also was nominated.

On the 21st day of her daughter's recovery, Josie Lou Ratley's mother was happy to report the teen has made small steps, like opening her eyes slightly and even squeezing a doctor's hand. But physicians are unable to tell Hilda Gotay Ratley what kind of long-term damage her daughter sustained in the March 17 beating at Deerfield Beach Middle School. The 15-year-old is in a medically induced coma. "She doesn't follow commands yet," Hilda Ratley said at a Wednesday morning news conference.

I really enjoy the reruns of "Reba." I am wondering what has happened to her wonderful supporting cast. I have not seen them on any other shows. They were great. -- D.L., Boca Raton Joanna Garcia, who played Reba's daughter Cheyenne, has had the busiest career. She starred in the short-lived, Palm Beach-set CW series "Privileged" and also has had guest roles on "Gossip Girl" and "How I Met Your Mother." Christopher Rich, who was Brock, had a six-episode arc on "Boston Legal" and appearances on " Desperate Housewives" and " CSI."

Moviemaking in Palm Beach County is getting a blockbuster upgrade this year — a Hollywood-size soundstage featuring an educational purpose. A $5 million facility, designed to entice film production companies, is being built by G-Star School of the Arts for Motion Pictures and Broadcasting in Palm Springs. The 860-student charter high school — which already runs a real movie complex on its campus — is using state education facility funding for the project to be completed by May. While film crews will rent the place for nothing, the 6-year-old school's students can gain experience by working on the productions.

The most valuable, cherished time slot in television, the hour after the Super Bowl is being thrown away by CBS on what sounds like a cheesy new reality show. Undercover Boss will premiere at approximately 10 p.m. on Feb. 7, right after the game at whatever they are calling Joe Robbie Stadium that day. The unscripted series will take over the Sunday night at 9 slot (the best Valentine's Day gift Desperate Housewives could hope for) on Feb. 14. Undercover Boss will have the CEOs of major corporations slip anonymously into their own workforce to see how the hired hands do it. On Super Bowl Sunday, Larry O'Donnell of Waste Management will clean portable toilets, sort trash at a recycling plant and visit a landfill.

Let the mind games begin. The Prisoner (8 p.m., AMC) offers a fresh take on the 1967 British cult classic about a man who wakes up in a freaky place called The Village with no memory of how he got there. Ian McKellen and Jim Caviezel star. On Desperate Housewives (9 p.m., WPLG-Ch. 10, WPBF-Ch. 25), Susan discovers a surprise connection between her husband and Katherine that has her questioning her relationship with Mike. Again. - Contra Costa Times

Desperate Housewives might be around long enough to become Desperate Cougars. ABC has extended the contract of creator/executive producer Marc Cherry by two years, through 2013. This would be enough to take Desperate Housewives, now in its sixth season, through seasons eight and nine. It already has been renewed through 2010-11. However, the contracts of the stars are set only through the seventh season, so there will have to be renegotiations if the soapy drama is to go further. Ironically, these negotiations might not be as tough as could be expected of a series as popular as Desperate Housewives.

Wisteria Lane was jammed for its welcome home party Sunday. Desperate Housewives season-opener would up the night's No. 1 program despite facing a Sunday Night Football matchup featuring teams from two of the nation's Top 10 markets, Chicago and Philadelphia. Jumping five years ahead in its storylines (see separate blog), Desperate Housewives drew 18.4 million viewers, according to preliminary Nielsen ratings. Interestingly, football had its strongest hour between 9 and 10 p.m., too. The Bears and Eagles played to about 16.4 million in that hour, better than the 15 million in its first and third hours.

Posted by Tom Jicha on September 28, 2009 01:08 PM, September 28, 2009

A "what was that?" moment intruded upon the season premiere of Desperate Housewives. To be precise, the strange interlude happened during a commercial break in the ABC series. Billed "Another Desperate Housewife," it was a short serialized drama in which a wife, suspicious of where her husband has been, checks the messages on his Sprint phone and finds an affectionate, perhaps romantic, few words from an unidentified source. I'm going to guess it turns out innocent by the time the seven additional installments play out. If I were trying to sell phones, I don't think I would push the fact that your mate could find out things about you from your phone that you would rather not have revealed.

James Denton is best known for playing Mike Delfino on the ABC hit series "Desperate Housewives." But some Chicago diners may remember him as the superfriendly waiter who served them at Harry Caray's or on the Odyssey dinner cruise. "I really enjoyed being a waiter and took the job seriously," said Denton, 46. "I never looked at it as something I had to do because I was an actor. It was a really interesting and fascinating job." Born in Nashville, Denton honed his acting chops at Chicago's Griffin Theatre and Strawdog Theatre.